Costs for flower exports to the US from Kenya cut by half
The Kenya Flower Council (KFC) projects that the freight cost for flower exports to the US will halve with direct flights between the two countries.
Cargo flights are currently charging Sh400 ($4) per kilogramme of flowers shipped to America via Amsterdam or South Africa. KFC says the charges are high because of the transit stopover.
“It is going to be cheaper for us to export our flowers to the US once direct flights to America start, this will be a big boost to our growers who will see their earnings improve,” said chief executive officer Jane Ngigi.
The council is gathering market intelligence on the status of the American market, entry points and investment opportunities.
Volumes of flowers exports last year grew incrementally to 133,000 tonnes from 130,000 tonnes the previous year, according to data from the Horticulture Development Centre.
Ms Ngige said the US market would raise competition for Kenyan flowers globally as currently nearly all the produce from the country is sold in Europe.
“Exports to the US implies we will have diversified our markets and we will no longer have to rely on Europe as our major buyer; this will make our produce competitive because of an alternative market,” she said.